BRATTLEBORO-When Clap Your Hands Say Yeah performs at the Stone Church in Brattleboro this Friday, Jan. 16, at 8 p.m., it will be a different experience from last year’s full band tour that celebrated the 20th anniversary of their debut album.
This time Alec Ounsworth, the driving force behind the indie rock band, will take the stage alone to play a stripped-down piano and voice show.
Since 2014, Ounsworth has performed his solo work under the same moniker as the band, which he was inspired to use after seeing it scrawled on a wall in Brooklyn.
Although most know the Philadelphia-based musician from his work with the band, playing solo is something he’s quite comfortable with; he notes that he’s done many solo tours over the years, and he even includes a solo segment when playing with the band.
* * *
Ounsworth’s upcoming tour follows his 2024 European tour, during which he accompanied himself on piano for the first time, rather than his usual instrument, the guitar. His piano playing had surfaced in his work on stage and on record, but not during the solo tours.
“The piano rearrangement started during the pandemic, where I was asked to play livestream shows,” he recently said. “I had played a few livestream shows on guitar and thought they sounded like garbage through the computer. So I rearranged, more or less, all of my songs for piano, which is my first instrument. So something personally positive had come from the pandemic, I guess.”
Ounsworth found that he enjoys the piano’s versatility.
“It’s more challenging, but when everything comes together, it feels magical,” he explained.
These stripped-down shows, featuring reworked songs in small venues, were a hit and showcased his songwriting skills. A four-song Piano & Voice EP that Ounsworth recorded on this tour has also been released.
* * *
A U.S. tour had to wait because 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s self-titled debut album.
When the band released its debut disc in 2005, no one, including Ounsworth, expected the reaction it got. He was hesitant to release it, worrying it was not good enough, but eventually put it out independently, without any promotion or support from a label.
But the strong songwriting, along with the buzzy synths, shimmering guitars, and Ounsworth’s unique vocals resonated with listeners, who began sharing their love for the album on Internet music blogs at a time when generating buzz online was a relatively new phenomenon.
The critics caught on, and suddenly the band that came out of nowhere was being showered with praise.
This kind of immediate success can be tough, but Clap Your Hands Say Yeah forged on and, in the years that followed, the band released six albums. Ounsworth also put out a solo album and one with another group, Flashy Python.
The Clap Your Hands Say Yeah debut remained a fan favorite and is considered a landmark album, brilliantly capturing the independent music scene of the early 2000s. So to celebrate its 20th anniversary, the band put out a deluxe reissue and launched a massive world tour that Ounsworth said was fantastic.
“I am still very fond of those songs, so I was happy to play the album again in its entirety,” he said. “Some of the songs were changed quite a bit, which is normal. Naturally, I believe that everything changes in time one way or another, but if the foundation is solid, the changes will always remain very interesting.”
* * *
Ounsworth has a busy year ahead, working on a new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album and possibly playing some band shows. He is also writing the score for an upcoming documentary film.
But before starting those projects, he decided it was the right time to bring the voice-and-piano tour to the U.S.
“Now seemed a good time,” he said. “I’m planning the next album and so I wanted to be sure I had the chance to now show this side of the songs to a U.S. and Canadian audience before I get overwhelmed with everything else.”
He looks forward to the tour, which will begin in Boston on Jan. 15 and will run through the end of February. Ounsworth is looking forward to playing small venues, as the solo piano format allows him to connect through his songs to the audience in a new and intimate way.
He is also excited to visit Brattleboro for the first time and to play at the Stone Church, a venue he said has attracted him from photos he has seen posted online.
I asked Ounsworth if touring the debut album last year impacted the songs he picked for this tour, but he said it didn’t.
“I generally choose songs that I feel closest to at a given time and see if I can make them stand up in a new arrangement,” he said. “It’s a challenge, but very liberating.”
He went on to say that the upcoming show on Friday will feature a mix of his solo material as well as songs by his band.
“It will mostly be Clap Your Hands, but maybe some from [his solo album] Mo Beauty and Flashy Python too,” he said. “I have some covers that are lined up and have been practicing this set every day for a little while now. These songs have started feeling very unifying and hopeful.”
* * *
Tickets are $37 for this all ages show and are available at stonechurchvt.com. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer from Easthampton, Massachusetts. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications.
This Arts column by Sheryl Hunter was written for The Commons.